Electric deicers have been used in livestock water tanks to keep ice from forming during winter months. If deicers were not used, ice would form in the water tanks, thereby preventing livestock from drinking the water within the tanks.
Conventional electric water deicers are used to keep areas of livestock water tanks and ponds free from ice during winter months. Similarly, birdbath deicers and heated birdbaths or pet bowls are used for smaller animals. One type of deicer is a floating deicer in which a buoyant member such as a buoyant ring is attached to a heating element so that the deicer may float on the surface of the water. Another type of deicer is a sinking deicer that is configured to lay at the bottom of a tank or pond, or on a metal guard submerged in the tank. Deicing systems are shown and described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/235,761, entitled “Deicing System and Method,” filed Sep. 23, 2008, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Generally, deicers are plugged into an electrical outlet and then placed into water. With both floating deicers and sinking deicers, the insulated electrical cord is draped over a side of the tank where it is exposed to livestock.
Many animals are, however, inquisitive and tend to play, or otherwise interfere with, an object that extends above the water surface. Horses, in particular, often use their teeth to pull objects from water tanks. In some instances, livestock pull a deicer from a water tank, thereby presenting a dangerous situation in which a heating element of the deicer becomes extremely hot when not immersed in water.
In recent years, deicers designed to be mounted in a drain hole of a water tank have been used. A drain plug deicer operates similar to a sinking deicer. The electrical cord for a drain plug deicer is completely outside the tank where it can be routed to prevent encounters with livestock. However, a water tank must first be emptied of water in order to install or remove a drain plug deicer. Additionally, if a drain plug deicer becomes inoperable, it is difficult to remove from a water tank in freezing temperatures due to the fact that ice forms around it, thereby freezing it in position.